Indie Spotlight: New Releases for July 24

Here's a quick look at what's opening in limited release this weekend. If they're not playing where you live, keep an eye out as they make the rounds. And if all else fails, there's always DVD.

In the Loop (pictured), a smart, snarky, and hilarious British political comedy, is now playing in New York, L.A., San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C., and Cambridge, Mass. It's one of the best-reviewed comedies of the year so far, with a 93% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Cinematical's James Rocchi, reviewing it at Sundance, called it "achingly, wrenchingly, dizzyingly funny, with a bleak, bitter sense of humor."

The Answer Man premiered at Sundance under the title Arlen Faber and is now hitting theaters in New York, L.A., and Philadelphia. It stars Jeff Daniels as a reclusive author of self-help books who -- get this -- is actually really screwed up! The mom from Gilmore Girls comes along and disrupts his life. The reviews at Rotten Tomatoes are mostly negative, citing the film's over-reliance on coincidences, easy solutions, sentimentality, and clichés.

Shrink, another Sundance premiere, has a strikingly similar premise, with Kevin Spacey playing a psychiatrist whose personal life is, you guessed it, really screwed up. It opens today in New York and L.A. Once again, the Rotten Tomatoes consensus is mostly negative.

Finally, there's Deadgirl, a splattery zombie horror that's been making the rounds in the midnight section of various film festivals. The Rotten Tomatoes news is not good here either, with three in favor and eight against. You can find it in New York, L.A., Chicago, Seattle, Houston, Austin, Dallas, and St. Louis.